I'm Not That Girl
by SavageTrickster
Summary: If he was going to be Prince Charming, she prayed fervently that she wouldn't be Cinderella. Dear gods, the fangirls would murder her. Then again, she'd probably be more suited to be the fat little mouse who got itself into too many unfortunate situations. - Shiraishi x OC -
1. Prologue

This story was written on the spur of the moment while I was listening to this super good Japanese song. I used to have this fanfic 'Love Thy Neighbour' which I deleted because I hated it and I decided I wanted a better story written with my improved writing skill and thicker plot. In summary, this story idea was evolved from that old fanfic.

Could you maybe give it a try?

I apologize if this sucks.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Prince of Tennis.

* * *

 **I'm Not That Girl**

 _Prologue_

* * *

I was only seven when I moved from Tokyo to Osaka with my mom and became Shiraishi Kuranosuke's neighbour. And the first thing I realized about him was that he was everything I was not.

He was a little boy loved by the adults including my own mom and our classmates in the class we shared in elementary school.

Even as a seven year old, he was wise, sporty and carried an alluring aura that drew people to him, like a moth to a flame. As if these qualities weren't enough, he also has that sharp-looking pair of honey brown eyes and soft smiles that adorned his face. He was a handsome young boy with a seemingly promising future – if his good, no, perfect grades on his report cards weren't enough to prove that, what will?

How about me?

Well…there isn't really anything I can boast about my seven year old self. Really.

Compared to Mr. Perfect I talked about, I was just an ordinary, if not, less than average little girl back then.

I was a chubby little girl who has auburn-red wavy (more like messy!) hair and boring brown eyes. The metallic silver braces on my teeth was the first thing people see when I smiled and I have to say, they weren't very flattering to look at.

And my grades…well, I was not very good with my studies. They were inconsistent, like a rollercoaster, they went up and down. Again unlike Mr. Perfect, I wasn't very popular with my peers either especially the girls. They seemed to find my so-called 'larger' body disgusting and find it a great fun to make fun of me.

But there was one thing they had envied me about…Okay, technically, there was a lot more than _one_ thing.

I, Miss Less-Than-Average, was friends with Mr. Perfect. A friend who _also_ happened to be his neighbour.

To them, it was strange for a popular guy like him to choose to play with someone like me during recess over 'small' girls like them. I didn't blame them; I'd wondered about that myself at times.

I have never dared to ask him why, afraid that my self-esteem would sink if he confessed that he had pitied me.

But when we were in fifth grade, my friendship with Mr. Perfect grew weaker as he turned more popular with his new regular status on the school's popular tennis team, drifting further and further away from me until I couldn't see him anymore.

The teasing I had received grew as well. They were horrible, but it was a treatment I had grown used to. Rumours that he had grown tired of pitying me and decided to ditch me flew everywhere and eventually, to me. And the thing was, I believed it.

I didn't want anything to do with someone who gave me friendship because he pitied me.

Ever since then, I had made every effort to avoid him. Ignoring him in school was easy since we were no longer classmates, but trying to avoid him while staying in the house next to his was not easy. Whenever he came to visit my mum with his, I would hide in my room or be out of the house. Whenever I needed to go to school, I will be up early so that I could make it there safely without bumping into him in front of our houses.

And thankfully, after a tough year of life ignoring his existence, my dad (my parents were divorced) had invited me to stay with him in Tokyo.

I was sick of being teased and looked down on. Sick of this pathetic, depressing life of mine.

I was eager and determined to start afresh there, promising myself that I, Okuda Shizue, will no longer be 'Miss Less-Than-Average' but someone people looks up to.

It was my chance to escape the choking hold life in Osaka had on me and so of course, I grabbed it.

* * *

 **A/N:** I hope you liked this little prologue. I would be back in a few days to upload Chapter One so if you're interested, please stay tune. But it would be great if you leave me some reviews about this while waiting; I'm really curious about my reckless attempt at this. If not, I'll just forget about this fanfic.


	2. Oh Hell No

And so this is where the story officially begins. I hope you find this alright. Please leave me reviews because feedbacks are really important to me!

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.

* * *

 **I'm Not That Girl**

 _Chapter 1_

* * *

"…And on the third lane, we have Okuda Shizue-san from Hyotei Gakuen! She is one competitor I wouldn't take lightly, for she has two gold medals under her belt from the two years, what a record!"

So here she was, standing at the starting line before a crowd of strangers and feeling like a specimen under the microscope. The attention was unnerving, and Shizue couldn't help but squirmed inwardly as she tried not to let her nerves get the better of her.

This wasn't her first time representing Hyotei High in a track and field competition, though it was her last.

A round of applause and a burst of cheers sounded from the spectators' stand as she raised a hand to wave and pasted on her biggest smile. She could feel all eyes on her - the calculated looks from her opponents beside her, the expectant gaze of her team, and the strict stare of her coach.

Kicking up her knees to her chest to warm up her muscles, Shizue imprinted the image of the track into her head as the announcer moved on to introduce the rest of the sprinters. The announcer gave a brief summary of each sprinter's track record but they fell past her attention, easily bleeding into the background.

All she had in mind was the race.

After months and months of intensive training under her coach, she was ready to prove herself.

"Sprinters, into your positions!"

 _Alright._ _This is it._

She stepped forward with a sharp curt exhale of breath and got into the starting position, instantly feeling the heat radiating off the ground.

Closing her eyes, she focused on her breathing and urged her racing heart to calm down.

The unnerving anticipation that lingered in the air was almost tangible enough to make her skin prickle and hair stand. She could feel the weight of the heavy gaze of the spectators, boring into her and the ones that shared the starting line with her.

But they slowly faded as she felt a wave of calmness wash over her.

 _It's the last thing you can do for the team, make it count._

Then her eyes snapped open, heated and resolved.

Shizue spared a quick glance at her coach and her trackmates and quirked a small smile at them as they gave her a thumbs up. She breathed out the last remnants of tension as she turned back to the front and watched the starter walk to his position.

"On your mark…"

Taking it as the cue, she lifted herself off the ground and adjusted her form. From her peripheral view, she could see tension in the form of each and every of the sprinters beside her.

"Ready, get set…" She felt her leg muscles tightened in anticipation for the battle ahead. "…GO!"

The gun went off, and Shizue flew.

* * *

The school bell rang the moment the hands of the wall clock struck 3:30PM, signalling the end of a school day for the students of Hyotei Gakuen.

Jirou lifted his head off his desk groggily with a small furrow between his eyebrows, feeling rather annoyed at the shrilling bell that had rudely disturbed his sleep.

He had fallen asleep in the midst of their History lesson, but he couldn't really be blamed for that. Ishigumi-sensei was droning on and on about the Meiji Restoration in his low, monotonous voice and it had lured him to sleep like a lullaby. It was a really good nap too…

Rubbing his eyes, he glanced around the classroom drowsily and was surprised to find empty desks. Apart from the few students in front, at the back with him and at the other side of the room, nearly half of his class were nowhere to be found. And so was their History teacher.

Where did they go?

Jirou scratched his head in puzzlement, his eyes squinting sleepily. He opened his mouth lazily to let out a big yawn and groaned groggily before turning to the neighbouring desk to his right, blinking slowly at the redhead who occupied it. Maybe he should ask her…

"Hey, Shizue-chan…"

Shizue who was clearing her desk paused and turned. Surprise flashed across her features when she found her classmate and frequent project partner staring at her with a muddled look.

"Oh you're awake, Akutagawa-san." The surprised look on her face was quickly replaced by a puzzled look. "What is it?"

"Where did everyone go?" Jirou turned in his chair to face her, leaning forward with wide eyes. "And where's Ishigumi-sensei?"

A hum of amusement went through her and a small smile fell on her lips at the confused look on his face.

Ishigumi-sensei had taken one look at the slumbering student and shook his head before continuing his lesson. In Hyotei, as long as you perform well enough in the exams, the teachers are fine with closing one eye when it comes to students not paying attention in class. Especially since Akutagawa Jirou was well-known in the school for his ability to fall asleep almost anywhere and yet still managed to perform relatively well during exams.

"Class is over." She smiled fondly at him. To think that she had once been rather critical of him, back when they first became project mates.

They usually ended up being in the same group during projects as their teachers tended to group them with people sitting near them for the ease of discussion. Her first impression of Akutagawa Jirou had not been particularly positive when she found him sleeping during their group discussions.

Her impression had changed when he completed his portion of the work (a rather excellent report, if she may say so) and even went out of the way to do extra research to contribute during their next meeting. He had mumbled something about how 'Atobe-buchou' expected top-notch work from all his regulars before promptly dropping back to sleep. She was amazed when he later told her that he could still tune into his surroundings even when asleep. Probably from years of practice?

She was even more surprised to find out that he was in the top ten of their class in terms of results. Akutagawa Jirou was really an enigma.

Over time, his cheerful attitude and child-like enthusiasm had slowly endeared him to her and now she had a newfound admiration for him.

"I think it's time for your tennis practice, isn't it?"

The smile on Shizue's face grew wider as she watched Jirou's face take on a bright child-like expression of delight. "Oh yeah, practice! Gotta run!" Jirou exclaimed cheerily and shot up to his feet, hastily shoving his things into his bag.

She laughed quietly to herself. Only tennis could wake him up.

"See ya next week, Shizue-chan!" Jirou swung his bag over his shoulder and raced for the door.

She opened her mouth to correct him but he was already gone.

 _Seriously tennis was the only thing that could make him so energetic._

Blinking at the door, Shizue turned back to her desk with a sigh. Oh well, he'll remember that next week when he doesn't see her.

Pounding footsteps made her look up at the door again.

"My bad, Shizue-chan, I almost forgot!"

Jirou burst in through the classroom door with a lilac-colored envelope in his hand. She raised her eyebrows questioningly as he jogged over to her desk with a sheepish grin.

"Today is your last day here, isn't it? I made this card for you! Well Kabaji helped, but I did most of the work!" Jirou announced with a proud smile.

Shizue's gaze fell to the envelope in her hand in surprise and felt her heart swell with fondness as she smiled at him. "Thanks, Akutagawa-san. Do me a favor and help me thank Kabaji-san for his help too, I really appreciate the gesture."

"Yeah sure! I don't want to be rude or anything, but I really got to go now or Atobe-buchou will make me run laps again. Maybe I'll see you again if we ever go to Shitenhouji for a tennis match!"

Shizue smiled to herself as she watched Jirou dash off again, and thought, _I'd really miss this place._

* * *

"Shizue-chan! I still can't believe you're leaving us like this!"

"Yeah, I thought we were going to bring the team into the Nationals together?"

Shizue looked up from the burger in her hand and let out a nervous laugh when she found herself pinned under the expectant gazes of her trackmates sitting around her.

"Sorry guys, I don't really have a choice in this." The fast food restaurant was buzzing with noise, but thankfully their usual corner was remote enough that they didn't need to shout to hear each other. "My dad wouldn't budge no matter how many times I told him I'll be fine staying here alone."

"But why is he making you move back to Osaka again for? Didn't you just move here six years ago?" Kouki-san, a fellow second year student, asked from across her.

"My dad's company assigned him to work in their London branch office and he's going to be there for at least a few years. He was worried about leaving me here alone so he wanted me to move back with my mom." Shizue took a bite of her burger. Her dad had broken the news to her two weeks ago over dinner and explained his reasons to her.

She loved her dad, but really he was too protective! There were many days when she had to stay at home alone when her dad ended work late and only arrived home in the wee hours of morning. But to ease his worries, she had reluctantly agreed even though it meant leaving behind all her friends and going back to Osaka.

 _Back to him,_ her mind supplied unhelpfully.

"Which school are you going to?"

Shizue discarded her earlier train of thoughts and glanced over to her captain Akane-san. "Oh, Shitenhouji High."

Another of her trackmate Ise-chan nudged Shizue with her elbow. "Hey hey, are you going to join the track team at Shitenhouji, Shizue-chan?"

Shizue sweatdropped when all her trackmates seemed to turn to her suddenly. "Ah…I guess so? I mean, it started as a hobby at first, but you guys made it real fun and I grew to really like being on the track team, so I'll probably join the track team there…?"

She knew she was blabbering under the intense gaze of her trackmates, but the sudden silence was broken by Ise-chan who hugged her and squealed "Awww Shizue-chan, we love you too! Even if you join another school's track team, you're still our cool and steady Shizue-chan!"

The rest of her trackmates joined in laughing and it became a group hug with her stuck in the middle.

"Calm down girls, Shizue needs to breathe." Akane turned her calm gaze on Shizue and nodded stoically. "Shizue, Ise is right. Even if we may end up in opposing teams, we'll still always be your friends and we'll remember all the good times we had together as Hyotei's track team. I wish you all the best in Shitenhouji and we'll see you in the Nationals."

Akane broke into a smile then. "Now, come and give your favourite captain a farewell hug!"

The table burst into laughter at their captain's 180 degree change in attitude as Akane grabbed Shizue into a tight hug that nearly left her breathless. They were used to their captain's extreme changes in behaviour from Akane the Calm and Stoic Captain to Akane the Loud and Quirky Captain, but it never failed to amuse them.

Akane released her and conversation dwindled onto other topics as Shizue smiled fondly at her trackmates while subtly rubbing away a lone tear that slipped unnoticed.

 _Thank you girls, for making Hyotei High the best two years of my life._

* * *

All of her stuff were sealed into cardboard boxes and handed over to the delivery service to be sent over to her address in Osaka. Her room was empty except for the furnitures that she obviously wouldn't be bringing along with her. She took one last look at her home of six years since she first arrived in Tokyo, before getting into the cab with her dad.

With a last, long hug from her dad and a promise to call every night, Shizue alighted at the train station as her dad continued on his journey to the airport for his flight to London.

Carrying nothing more than a bag pack with her wallet, phone and basic necessities, she proceeded to the ticket station to buy the earliest ticket to Osaka.

Her phone vibrated as a text from her dad popped onto the screen.

 _Have a safe trip, dear! Send me a text when you've met up with your mum._

Shizue smiled to herself as she sent a smiley face back to her dad along with the message, _I will, have a safe trip too!_

With nothing to distract herself with, her mind started wandering.

Shitenhoji High School. Her new high school.

Oh god, she'll be the new kid again!

She wondered briefly if anyone from her elementary school would recognise her name.

Probably not since she was never really that popular, and people only seemed to know her as that 'ugly fatty sticking to Shiraishi-kun'.

Shizue shook her head to dispel the bad memories. It's all in the past, she's different now, and she's not going to let those words affect her anymore.

 _Really?_

 _Can you really go back to Osaka and not be reminded of all the bad memories_?

 _Can you really continue acting so confident, or is it just empty words?_

 _And do you dare to face Shiraishi-kun after how you treated him so many years ago? Poor Shiraishi-kun, having a friend like you who would turn her back on him and just leave without warning one day?_

Shizue tried to ignore the sly voice in her head taunting her.

She knew she was wrong. She should never had blamed Shiraishi for the mean words the other girls had said about her, and for the things they had done to her. It wasn't as if he was the one who had thrown those cruel words to her, and tore what little self-esteem she had then. Why did the other girls have to say such mean things to her, and pull such cruel pranks? What did she do to them?

But eleven year old Shizue was hurt and confused, and had unconsciously started pushing the blame onto Shiraishi when the bullying got worse. Why didn't he help me? Does he even care? I thought we were friends! Maybe the girls were right, maybe he only decided to be my friend because he pitied me.

When Shiraishi acted as if nothing happened, she decided to distance herself from him. She grew colder and colder to him, making excuses when he asked her if she wanted to hang out, or pretending not to hear him when he called her name.

Shiraishi had noticed her not-so-subtle excuses after a while, and gradually stopped trying to talk to her, though she noticed him frequently staring at her when he thought she wasn't looking.

Then one day her dad got a job offer at Tokyo, and she had leapt at the chance of a new life, away from Shiraishi, away from all the bad memories. She left without telling Shiraishi or her classmates. Her homeroom teacher was the one who broke the news to the class, and by that time, she was already in Tokyo and ready to start her new life.

As she got older, she realised that maybe Shiraishi really didn't know about the bullying. The bullies never took place in front of him, and they were good at covering up any signs of their activities. She never told Shiraishi about the bullying as she had assumed that he had known about it but had chosen to keep quiet.

Being neighbours, their parents were good friends so they had known each other since young. Hence it was unlikely that he only became her friend out of pity. She felt a hot flush of shame as she realised that she had naively believed in the words of her bullies and ended the only friendship she really had.

Oh god, how would she face him if she sees him again? If his family hasn't moved, she'll probably be seeing him a lot.

He probably didn't want anything to do with her anymore, and a small part of her saddened at that thought.

He had been her best friend.

The arrival of the train snapped her out of her thoughts.

 _Suck it up, Shizue! You're going home!_

* * *

The train ride to Osaka was unentertaining and she couldn't focus on the book she was attempting to read, so she was glad when the train finally drew near to the station.

Getting out of the station, she glanced around as she tried to spy the familiar face.

"SHIZUE-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"

Before she could turn around, something grabbed her from behind, almost lifting her off her feet. Auburn red hair much like her own dangled into her face, blocking her view of the street around them.

"Mum, I really, really would like to breathe now."

Akihara Yuko grinned at her daughter as the latter tried unsuccessfully to tidy up her hair, leaving it still sticking out at weird angles. "Shizue-chan, I missed you so much! All those video calls aren't the same as seeing your beautiful face in person!"

Shizue blushed as her mum's loud proclamation drew the curious eyes of a few strangers walking by."Mum! Just… keep it down a little, please?"When her mum pouted rather unbecomingly of someone her age, Shizue laughed as she hugged her mum. "I missed you a lot too, mum! Now stop pouting, it's unflattering."

It wasn't true since her mum was the kind of person who was blessed with a face that would still look beautiful even though she was well into her forties by bad those genes weren't passed down to her, but according to her dad, she had at least inherited her mum's gracefulness. Yay.

They managed to grab a cab from the station, her mum throwing questions throughout the journey home and her trying her best to answer all of them.

"How was Hyotei? Is it really as beautiful and fancy as they say?"

"Yeap it's gorgeous and they have the best facilities around."

"So how's the track team? Did you make friends?"

"Yeap."

"Did you like your time on the track team?"

"Yeap."

"Are you going to join the team at Shitenhouji?"

"Yeap."

"Do you have a boyfriend you're not telling me about?"

"Yea- hey what, no!"

Her mum giggled rather maniacally.

"Ah, to be young!"

"Mum, no. Just… no."

Thankfully, the cab stopped right outside their house and Shizue escaped before her mum started asking more and more weird questions. She stopped right before the gate and looked at the house.

It looked the same. The flowers still bloomed in their little garden near the front yard, and the ugly little garden gnome was still at the same place. She breathed in a breath of fresh air and suddenly felt all her earlier fears melt away.

Her eyes met her mum's as she smiled.

"I'm home."

* * *

Her old room was exactly as it was six years ago.

It was clear that her mum had tried to leave everything as it was when she was tidying up the place, and Shizue's heart swell in fondness at her mum's thoughtfulness.

She dumped her bag on her bed before heading down to the kitchen where her mum was preparing lunch.

"Mum, where's grandma?"

Yuko paused in her stirring of the miso broth as she turned to reply. "Oh she went out for a walk in the nearby park, she said that she'll see you when she gets home."

Shizue smiled and shook her head exasperatedly. Her dad's mother had always been an active soul. Whether it was in terms of her attitude towards life, or her passion in trying out new activities, her grandma always gave her 110% into everything.

Her grandma had also been the one who had introduced her to the art of flower arranging, and for that she was more than thankful as it had developed into a hobby that she still practised even when in Tokyo. Although it was a rather tedious activity, it always managed to calm her down.

She was about to offer her assistance in preparing lunch when the doorbell rang.

Yuko paused in her chopping of the vegetables to shoot her daughter an apologetic glance. "Sorry dear, my hands are occupied now. Can you open the door for grandma?"

"Yeah sure."

She made her way out of kitchen and went to open the front door.

"I'm coming, grandma-"

She stopped short when she saw that the person at the door was not even anywhere near her grandma's age.

Even though it had been six years, she'd still recognize him anywhere.

Shiraishi Kuranosuke.

… _oh hell no._

Then she slammed the door in his face.


	3. Once Upon A Time

**A/N:** Thank you for your reviews! They were very encouraging and interesting to read. Without further ado, here is the next chapter. Please leave a review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.

* * *

 **I'm Not That Girl**

 _Chapter 2_

* * *

Okay, so she panicked.

Shizue stared at the closed door as she tried not to think about what, or more specifically _who_ , was on the other side. She knew she had to face Shiraishi someday, but she didn't think it would be so soon! Biting her lip nervously as she stared at the door, a rather bad habit she picked up from her mum, she tried to think of the best way out of this situation.

Maybe she should just walk away and pretend that no one's at the door. Maybe she should just man up and open the door to apologise. Or maybe she should just run and hide in her room and leave it to her mum to face him while making sure that their paths never cross again in the future.

None of the ideas sound particularly promising as a silent sigh escaped Shizue. This was her first day in Osaka after six years and she was already messing up! She dreaded to think what kind of situations she would find herself in the future, if today was any sign. Why was slamming the door in his face her first reaction to Shiraishi Kuranosuke? So much for wanting to make a good impression.

"Shizue-chan," She glanced up to see her mum walking out of the kitchen. "Who's at the door? Was it your grandma?"

Maybe she just hand this to her mum and run for her life now?

"Erm no, well you see-"

A knock sounded from the door.

"Yuko-san?" A voice resonated from other side. "It's me, Kuranosuke, is everything alright in there?"

"Oh my!" Her mum gave a little girlish laughter of delight. "Shizue-chan, why didn't you open the door for Kuranosuke-kun?"

Shizue gave a sheepish small and laughed nervously. "I thought it was a… telemarketer?"

Her mum gave her a fond smile and laughed as she reached for the door. "Don't be silly dear, telemarketers usually just call instead of going to your house!"

The door swung open. An apologetic smile curled her lips as soon as Shizue found herself making eye contact with Shiraishi again, trying not to let her nervousness show though she was pretty sure it wasn't working very well.

"What brings you here, Kuranosuke-kun?"

Nodding at Shizue, Shiraishi briefly returned an amused smile before turning to answer her mum. "My mum baked this cake to welcome Shi…Okuda-san back." He extended a cake box to the older woman with a smile on his face. "Here."

Shizue noticed the slip when he was saying her name, and felt a short pang in her heart when she thought about how he had called her 'Okuda-san' now instead of the old 'Shi-chan'. But then again, she probably lost the right to call him by his name after what she did years ago. She sighed as she tried to gaze subtly at him.

"Oh anyway, it's nice to see you again Okuda-san." Shiraishi turned to Shizue cheerfully.

Shizue felt another pang.

"T-Thanks, you too…Shiraishi-kun."

Yuko glanced between the two curiously. "What's with all these formalities? You two used to call each other 'Shi-chan' and 'Kura-chan' when you were little!"

Shizue's and Shiraishi's eyes met for a while.

"Mum, we're no longer kids anymore." Shizue explained. "Plus, it doesn't really matter…" She turned to Shiraishi with an awkward smile. "…right, Shiraishi-kun?"

"Erm…Y-Yeah!" Shiraishi rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous laugh. "Ah anyway, I have tennis practice so I think I should get going now."

"Aww, so soon?" her mother's face fell. "I was hoping you two could catch up after so long!"

Shiraishi gave the woman an apologetic grin. "Sorry, Yuko-san, I'm sure we can do that some other days."

Shizue nodded awkwardly when he gave her a hesitant smile.

"Alright then, all the best for practice!" Yuko gave him a thumbs up. "And thank you so much for this cake Kuranosuke-kun! Help me thank Reiko-san for the cake, will you?"

"Thanks, Yuko-san. I'll be sure to pass your thanks to my mum!" Shiraishi turned as if about to go. Shizue flinched slightly in surprise when she suddenly found herself under the gaze of his sharp-looking pair of nostalgic honey brown eyes on her once again. "Shitenhouji right?"

"What?" Shizue blinked questioningly before coming to realize what Shiraishi meant. "Oh, yup."

"See you around in school then!"

Shizue watched the light-haired boy jog away and turn into a corner, disappearing from sight behind their fence.

"Oh isn't this exciting? You two are attending high school together!" Yuko gushed, clapping her hands in delight. "Just like old times, Shizue-chan!" The older woman let out a squeal and went into the house with the cake box in hand.

Just like old times…?

Shizue felt dread crawl up her spine.

* * *

Outside the fence to the Okuda household once he was out of sight, Shiraishi paused and sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair in a mix of frustration and disappointment.

He had not seen her in six years and he had hoped… he had hoped that maybe she would forgive him. To this date he still had no idea what he had done to cause their friendship to break down, but whatever it was, he was determined to use this second chance to get his best friend back.

When she had slammed the door in his face, he had assumed the worst and a heavy feeling had settled in his stomach. Did she really hate him that much…?

But Yuko-san (he still wasn't used to calling her that though she had insisted, and he finally gave in after countless attempts, much to her delight.) had opened the door, and Shizue had smiled at him. A small smile, but a smile nonetheless, and he had felt somewhat relieved.

He had almost called her 'Shi-chan' out of habit, but changed his mind midway when he thought about how she probably wouldn't like it, and he didn't want to make her uncomfortable by overstepping his boundaries.

When she had called him 'Shiraishi-kun' instead of 'Kura-chan', he felt a slight ping of disappointment at how she distanced herself from him and another wisp of doubt crept into his mind again. Maybe she was still upset with him…

He ran his fingers through his hair again in frustration, messing it up even more. Why did things have to get so complicated? He would be seeing her in school again, especially since they're both in the same year, and he hoped that somehow they could be friends again.

He thought of little Shizue who always had the brightest smile that had not been dampened at all by the presence of her braces (speaking of which, he noticed perfectly aligned teeth when she gave him the small smile earlier on), of little Shizue who could always make him laugh and feel totally at ease, of little Shizue who would adorably declare her undying love for 'Kura-chan' to the amusement of both their parents…

He missed his best friend.

Shaking his head, he promised silently that he would mend their friendship no matter how long it needed.

With one last glance at the Okuda household, he went home and got ready for tennis practice.

* * *

Shizue found a seat as soon as she got onto the bus. The bus was fairly packed with men and women dressed in typical office attires, as well as students from different schools. She had managed to spot a few from Shitenhoji High while she was gazing around boredly.

Monday came too fast for her taste. Monday was the day of the week when students and working adults alike suffer a dampening condition called 'Monday blues'. For her, this particular Monday was the day she had dreaded ever since she returned to Osaka.

Her first day at Shitenhouji High. Once again, she was the new student in a completely new environment with strangers. The fluttering in her stomach was anything but comfortable.

Shizue ducked her head when the bus halted at a stop and spotted a familiar face amongst the boarding commuters. An elementary school classmate, perhaps? What was her name again?

She carefully studied the girl as subtly as she could through her peripheral vision. Shizue could feel her palms growing sweaty as she watched the girl glance around the bus, edging closer and closer to her.

" _Just like old times, Shizue-chan!"_

Her mum's words from Saturday came back to her and made her cringe inwardly. The girl had reminded her of what happened during her elementary years and Shizue prayed that the past wouldn't repeat when she noticed that the girl was wearing the same school uniform as her.

Shizue let out a relieved sigh when the girl moved past her without a glance at her, silently thanking that she didn't recognize her.

This made Shizue grateful for the changes she had undergone.

She was no longer the chubby girl from back then. The trainings she had while being in Track and Field had shed her fats and developed lean, toned muscles in their place, though she was a little fleshier than the other members. Her messy, rather frizzy hair she had back then was now decent and long enough to reach mid-back. Gone were her braces as well.

 _You're different now. You can make the rest of your high school years in Shitenhoji as good as the one in Hyotei!_

Shizue raised her head with a determined look as she watched the buildings of Shitenhoji High approach through the window.

 _Be positive, Shizue, it's a fresh start. What could go wrong anyway?_

* * *

Apparently, things could go wrong.

She still wasn't completely sure where to alight, so when she saw the two Shitenhouji High students standing near her prepare to get off the bus, she had unthinkingly got off the bus too, only to realise later that the two students were not headed to school directly and hence that she had alighted one stop too early. Deciding that it would be faster to walk, she had proceeded to make her way to Shitenhoji High with the help of a few kind passers-by who were helpful in giving directions.

When she finally entered the school compounds, she had gotten lost trying to find her way to the administrative office. Shizue breathed a sigh of relief as she gave a quick glance at her watch and realised that she still had plenty of time before classes started. It was too early so there weren't many students around yet. Gazing around curiously, she decided to walk around the school while keeping an eye out for the administrative office.

Breathing in the fresh air calmed her nerves, and the comfortable silence on the school grounds made Shizue lifted her spirits. Wandering over to the fields, she saw the clubs having their morning practice. There was the girls' soccer team, the cheerleading team, and the track team.

Unlike the team back at Hyotei, she noticed that the Shitenhoji track team comprised of both male and female members training together. The sight of them training reminded her of her old team back in Tokyo and brought a fond smile to her lips.

Shizue turned her head towards the sound of tennis balls hitting the ground and found herself looking at the tennis courts that were next to the field. She swept her gaze across the courts curiously and paused when her eyes landed on Shiraishi who was playing against a guy with messy brown hair.

She let out a soft sigh as her encounter with Shiraishi on Saturday came back to her. She had not been mentally prepared when he had suddenly appeared at her doorstep, and she had ended up breaking her own promise of wanting to fix things with her childhood bestfriend by acting like an idiot.

Shizue clenched her fists.

From today onwards, she was going to double her efforts in building up her friendship with Shiraishi and make up for abandoning him years ago.

* * *

No, no, no. This couldn't be happening. Did she read her schedule wrongly? Did she perhaps entered the wrong classroom?

Shizue could feel the simultaneous curious stares from the rows of students before her. Especially the stare from a certain pair of sharp honey brown eyes. She felt the floor pulling out from beneath her and her pulse quickening as thoughts flitted through one after another – the light-haired male at the back was Shiraishi, right? Holy shit, same class as Shiraishi? Oh god, she wasn't prepared for this!

Was she really in the right classroo-

"Go on, Okuda-san, introduce yourself." The teacher prompted with a smile.

Oh, she was.

Shizue groaned inwardly and sucked in a deep breath, "Err hi, I'm Okuda Shizue and I just transferred here from Hyotei High in Tokyo. I like to run and practise flower arranging in my free time. Pleased to meet you!" She bowed at her waist and raised her head, determined to look as if she was confident and completely relaxed.

Murmurs spread across the classroom and Shizue tried not to let her eyes wander to a certain spot at the back of the classroom, afraid to see what expression Shiraishi was making. Perhaps a look of dread because she was in the same class as him? Perhaps a scowl between his brows? Perhaps he-

Seriously Shizue, just shut up!

Shizue fought the urge to roll her eyes at herself.

"Welcome to Shitenhouji, Okuda-san," The teacher smiled, "Since you're new here, our class representative will give you a tour around the school. Shiraishi-san," Shizue's eyes widened, "Please bring her around during break."

Horror sept into her eyes.

"Uh…no, no, it's fine! I can-"

"Yes, sensei." Shiraishi nodded at the teacher before turning his eyes to Shizue. "It's no problem, Okuda-san." He offered her a small smile.

"…Thanks."

"Alright, that's great to hear. Okuda-san," Shizue shifted her gaze to the teacher. "Go on, take a seat there." The teacher loosely pointed a finger at a direction.

Shizue's eyes followed the finger and found him pointing at a desk near the back but thankfully at the other side of the classroom away from Shiraishi who sat by the windows. Nodding in response, Shizue strolled forward with a silent sigh.

Why was she already feeling so tired?

* * *

Six years away from Osaka was long enough for many things to happen. Long enough for someone you know to turn into an almost complete stranger. Almost.

Shizue didn't know what kind of a person Shiraishi was now.

Sure, he was still the popular, handsome kid that everyone adores. She'd seen the way girls turned their heads when Shiraishi was walking down the corridors with her. It was hard not to notice how eyes were drawn to him when they passed, as if he was emitting some sort of aura that practically screamed out to all the females (and even some males) in the area.

She almost choked on her drink during homeroom period when she heard a girl in her class squeal excitedly to another girl about a _meeting after school for the 'Shiraishi-sama' fanclub_. _Kyaaaaaaa!_

Shizue felt her eye twitch as she pondered about the strange fact that high school tennis members apparently do have their own personalised fanclubs. Seriously, she thought that these kind of stuff only happened in Hyotei with Atobe Keigo and his team of tennis regulars.

Even Akutagawa-san had a fanclub, and all he does was sleep all day! She remembered more like a few times when his fangirls had sneaked into their classroom to place boxes of sweets next to his sleeping form before running out to join their friends to gush about 'how adorable Akutagawa-sama looks in his sleep, have you ever seen such wonder?'. Jirou had woken up later and spotted the boxes, and excitedly talked about how he had more chocolate, and Shizue-chan would you like some?

A smile grew on her face.

Shiraishi subtly eyed the quiet girl beside him and noticed that she had a faint smile on her lips as she stared absentmindedly at the corridor ahead. They barely talked, and the only time they had exchanged words was when she had asked him questions about school. He wasn't even sure that that could be counted as a conversation. God help him, why is it so hard to just say something?

Shiraishi rubbed the back of his neck nervously and glanced over at Shizue. She was still smiling faintly to herself, and he noticed how her smile seemed… gentle. He hadn't seen that smile in a long time, especially not directed towards him. What was she thinking about?

When Shizue glanced up at him curiously, Shiraishi realised that he had accidentally voiced out the last part. He cleared his throat and prayed that he wasn't being intrusive.

"I was just wondering what you were thinking about, cos' you were smiling and it looked like you were having a fond memory, and I-I was just w-wondering like…" Oh dear god, he was blabbering and stuttering. Of all the times to lose his eloquence, it had to be when he was talking to Shizue.

A quiet laugh rang out next to him and snapped him out of his thoughts. Shiraishi turned his head in surprise and found that Shizue had a hand over her mouth as she tried to hold back a laugh.

 _She's laughing…at me?_

Shiraishi continued to blink at her, and felt his face heat up. The stiff atmosphere that had surrounded them earlier on dissipated as she continued trying to smother her laughter and he just watched on bemusedly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. It's just that I haven't seen you blabber on like this in a long time!" Shiraishi felt her words trigger a sense of nostalgia in him. "You used to blabber a lot when you were younger, and you would stutter and trip over your words like this!"

At that moment, Shiraishi was transported ten years ago back to when he first met Shizue.

 _Shiraishi peered out cautiously from behind his mother's long skirt where he was hiding at their new neighbour. There was a little girl that looked about the same age as him, and she had long red hair that reminded him of autumn leaves. He liked autumn, it was his favourite season of the year!_

 _While lost in thoughts, he had not realised that the little girl had been staring at him curiously, so he gave a short 'Eep!' of surprise when he found himself staring into a pair of large brown eyes. Shiraishi burrowed his face into his mother's skirt and tried to make himself as small as possible, but his mother nudged him forward gently._

" _Kuranosuke, go say hi to Shizue-chan!" Shiraishi looked up hesitantly at his mum who was smiling at him encouragingly. He peered shyly at the little girl who was staring at him curiously and found himself tongue-tied._

" _Awww he's so cute! Shizue-chan, why don't you go say hi to Kuranosuke-kun?" The pretty lady next to the little girl prodded her with a gentle push, and the girl walked up to him._

 _With a big smile, she stuck out her hand and exclaimed loudly. "Hi! My name is Okuda Shizue, and I'm seven years old! You're cute, let's be friends!"_

 _While the adults laughed amusedly at Shizue's bold declaration, Shiraishi turned red._

" _H-h-hello, I'm erm, Shiraishi Kuranosuke, and erm I'm seven this year too. I think you're… you're c-cute too, so let's be friends? I mean, if you don't mind, I-I'd like to be friends too…?" The last part was said so softly that the adults could barely hear it, but Shizue heard it loud and clear._

 _With an excited squeal, Shizue jumped and hugged the shocked Shiraishi. "Yay I have a new friend! Can I call you 'Kura-chan'?"_

 _Shiraishi nodded shyly and Shizue eyed him almost contemplatively for a moment before slamming a tiny fist on her other palm. "Okay! I've decided! We are going to be best friends, and I'll protect you forever!"_

 _The adults cooed at how adorable they were, and Shiraishi thought that he couldn't get any redder._

" _O-okay, can I call you 'Shi-chan' then?" Shizue nodded enthusiastically before hugging him tightly that he almost saw stars in front of his eyes._

They've been best friends since then. He used to have this habit of stuttering and blabbering whenever he talked to strangers, but Shizue had slowly gotten him out of his habit. With her by his side, he had opened up and became more confident in speaking to strangers. With her by his side, he felt like he could do anything.

He never understood what happened to her, to them. As they got older, he became more outspoken while she became more withdrawn, only speaking like her usual self with him. With their classmates, she rarely interacted with them unless needed to, and gradually, she started closing off from him too.

He should have figured out something was wrong with his best friend, but he had been too distracted by his newfound love for tennis, and everytime he asked she would just shrug it off before changing the topic. Soon he stopped asking and eventually she stopped talking to him. When she left for Tokyo, it was as if she took a part of him with her, and he had refused to come out of his room until Yuko-san went to seek him out on his mother's request.

 _A knock rang out and Shiraishi stared gloomily at his door._

" _Kuranosuke-kun, it's me, Yuko. Can I come in?" Shiraishi paused before allowing her entry into his room._

" _Why… why did Shi-chan go? Why didn't she tell me anything? Did I do something wrong? Does she hate me?"_

 _Yuko halted his stream of questions and patted his head gently. "No, Kuranosuke-kun, Shizue-chan doesn't hate you and you didn't do anything wrong."_

 _A reassuring smile appeared on Yuko's face._

" _I'm not sure her exact reasons for wanting to go, but I'm sure she has her reasons. Shizue-chan… she hasn't been happy here in Osaka for quite a while, I noticed. She doesn't want to tell me why, but it must have been a good enough reason for her to leave. We have to trust in Shizue-chan, and know that one day she will come back to us. We are going to continue living out lives to the fullest, so that when Shizue-chan returns, we can proudly welcome her back and tell her how much we miss her."_

 _Wiping away his tears, Shiraishi made a silent promise that he would do his best so that when Shizue returns, he would be able to smile at her proudly and welcome her home._

Looking at seventeen year old Shizue next to him, he saw a flash of the seven year old girl and smiled.

"Yeah, I used to stutter so badly back then eh? Thank god I got rid of that habit! Remember that time in third grade when we were supposed to give a presentation, and I was so nervous that my stuttering came back and no one could understand me and you just kept laughing?"

"Yeah your face was so red like a tomato and I could almost see the steam coming off your face! Oh man, I laughed till my stomach hurt!"

Laughter echoed down the deserted hallway, making it seem almost brighter.

Relishing in their memories of their younger years, the two of them walked back to the classroom, the distance between them slightly, just _slightly_ , closer than before.

 **….**

* * *

 **A/N:** How about a review, yes? 8D


	4. Welcome to Shitenhouji

**A/N:** Well, I hope you enjoyed the previous chapter. I apologize for taking so long to update. I was stuck midway writing this chapter and it was a really bad writer's block so I didn't write again until I found the inspiration to finish up this chapter. I know I mentioned I would be on hiatus but I managed to find some time to finish this up so I did as you can see.

Anyway before you start reading, I would like to apologize for any error you spotted. I haven't had time to proofread it properly. I'm also sorry if you find the characters OOC, I'm still trying to do some character development slowly. As for the OCs, all I can say now is to give them a chance, I intend to do character development slowly so that it's more realistic and hopefully, relatable.

 **Disclaimer:** For the fourth time, Prince of Tennis does not belong to me. Only the OCs and the plot.

* * *

 **I'm Not That Girl**

 _Chapter 3_

* * *

Just _how_ did she land up in this situation again? And what was with this horrible sense of déjà vu?

All traces of common sense she possessed had apparently flown out the window while she was lost in the memories of their younger years.

She had completely forgotten what it meant to be sitting at the 'popular' table, forgotten who Shiraishi was and most importantly, the classic high school hierarchy and its unspoken rules. One does not simply walk over to the 'popular' table and plop down on one of its seats as if they were part of the people there.

Arguably, it was still her first day here and she hadn't really grasped the fact that the Shitenhouji tennis team was ridiculously popular with the students. But being on the receiving end of harsh whisperings and judging gazes had quickly taught her that fact.

Well, the tennis team at Hyotei was also ridiculously popular but she had always thought that Hyotei was kind of weird anyway. Like, what kind of school has a _wall-sized banner of their tennis team hanging from the foyer?_

She got a shock on her first day of school when she entered the foyer and found herself staring at the gleaming smirk of poster Atobe Keigo, and it gave her nightmares that night of a gigantic Atobe head chasing after her among a sea of bouncing tennis balls.

Shizue let out a silent sigh as she gazed around, feeling a little lost.

At the crowded table filled with the most popular boys in school, she never felt more out of place.

* * *

Shizue fought the urge to squirm in her seat, feeling uncomfortably self-conscious under the curious stares of the seven people seated in the same table as her, even as Shiraishi started the introductions.

She was vaguely aware that she had subconsciously shifted into what her Hyotei trackmates like to jokingly term as her 'attack mode' – arms locked tightly by her sides, her back rimrod straight, and staring down blankly at her opponents as she strikes fear into their hearts, and leave them quaking in their boots. Her trackmates always did have a vivid imagination.

She forced herself to relax her posture as she stared steadily back at the regulars who were staring at her as if she was the most fascinating thing in the vicinity.

When she sat down, she heard one of the regulars with messy brown hair ("Oshitari Kenya," her mind supplied helpfully) murmur to his companion ("Chitose Senri") "When was the last time Shiraishi brought a girl to the table?"

The latter shrugged absentmindedly but Shizue noticed that he was eyeing her contemplatively as Shiraishi continued introducing the regulars to her.

They fired off questions one after the other, much to Shiraishi's amusement and her bewilderment.

"Ooh, were you on a sports team in Hyotei?"

"Yeah, I was in the track team."

"Why did you transfer to Shitenhouji?"

"My dad has to work in London so he made me move back to Osaka."

"Where do you stay?"

"I stay…" Shizue paused to think before answering apologetically, "I'm still not very familiar with the street names. Shiraishi-kun, what's the name of the street we are staying in?"

Before Shiraishi could answer, a dumbfounded voice sounded from one of the regulars. "Wait, you guys stay together?"

Shizue turned to Gin and smiled. "Of course not. We are neighbours."

"WHAT?!"

* * *

It wasn't unusual to find the corridors this lively during break time. The boys were playing around with their school uniforms untucked, the girls chattering and laughing by windows outside their classrooms. The chatters, laughter and the occasional noises of pushed chairs scrapping across the floor – in this cacophony of noises, it was hard to make out anything coherent.

But for some reason, the bustle in the corridor suddenly reduced into hushed voices. And all eyes were on a certain figure making her way down the same corridor.

A tall girl with long, wavy strawberry blonde hair marched down the corridor, her long slim legs covering the distance between her and Class 2-1 with a model-like grace. Her sharp ice blue eyes were trained on the door sign of Class 2-1 but she was fully aware of the eyes on her. Just like every other day in Shitenhouji High. The admiration, the excited giddy gushes and–

" _Is she looking for Shiraishi-sama?"_

" _They look so good together, I'm so jealous!"_

And yeah, those ridiculous comments about her and their favorite tennis captain.

The students here, she does not know why, had this strange fascination with the two of them as an item. Somehow ever since Shiraishi and she took on the role of the president and the vice-president of the school's student council, the students became even more fired up about them.

Shiraishi Kuranosuke was a decent catch with good looks, excellent grades, and he was capable of juggling his roles as both Student Council President _and_ Tennis Captain which was an impressive feat. But she just wasn't attracted to him that way.

Letting out a silent sigh, Minami stopped before the opened door of 2-1 and peered in. There was a sudden dull in the noise level in the classroom.

She turned to a bespectacled guy who was seated nearest to the door and asked politely, "Do you know where Shiraishi-san is?"

Surprised to be addressed directly by _the_ Minami Kaede, his cheeks lit up with a blush. "T-Try the cafeteria?"

Minami replied with a quick thanks before turning in the direction of the cafeteria, all too aware of the curious stares following her the whole way.

* * *

So far she had learnt that all the regulars apart from the dark-haired guy, Ishihara Zeshin who had just excused himself to the washroom, used to be the regulars of Shitenhouji Middle School's tennis team with Shiraishi as the captain back then as well.

"So Okuda-chan, you are not Kura-rin's girlfriend then?" The bald guy the regulars called 'Koharu' inched forward eagerly with a suggestive wink.

Shizue raised her eyebrow at that question and quickly shook her head. "Nope, I'm just a friend. Well, and his neighbour."

She glanced over at Shiraishi and shook her head inwardly at the idea, resisting the urge to laugh. Them as a couple?

"Why would I lie to you guys?" Shiraishi said, laughing. "Didn't I already tell you that Okuda-san is not my girlfriend?"

Even Shiraishi knows that the idea of them together is ridiculous, Shizue thought wryly.

Shizue shrugged. "Exactly, we are just friends."

"C'mon guys, we already know that Shiraishi already has a girlfriend!" Oshitari cut in with a sly grin plastered on his face. "Well…girlfriend-to-be, that is." He flickered his eyes to Shiraishi, snickering.

"Girlfriend-to-be?" Shiraishi looked at Oshitari bemusedly. "Who? Since when?"

"Who else? Even Kintaro knows about her!" Oshitari hit his friend on his back goodnaturedly. "Seriously, practically the whole school ships you two!"

"Like how they ship Yuu-kun and me!" Koharu gushed and turned to Yuuji. "Right, Yuu- _kun~_?" He blew a kiss across the table.

"Koharu…"

"Yuu-kun!"

Shizue watched the two intriguingly, alternating her attention between the two with a puzzled look on her face.

"Koharu…"

"Yuu-kun, I-I…"

"Enough with this drama, can you two please bring this somewhere else, senpai-tachi?" Zaizen cut in monotonously, his usual sharp and intense dark green eyes gazing at the team couple with the look of someone who has seen this for countless times before.

"Yuu-rin, Zai-rin is so mean!" Koharu pouted.

The rest of the regulars just sighed half-heartedly.

"You'll get used to this," The sudden low chuckle by her ear made Shizue jump in her seat and she turned to find Shiraishi leaning away from her. He shot her a side smile before turning back to the regulars, "So who is that girlfriend-to-be you mentioned, Kenya?"

"C'mon Shiraishi, do you really not know?" With a hand to his mouth, Kenya eyed Shiraishi with an exaggerated surprised look, as if he was about to reveal a scandalous secret. It was replaced by an incredulous look the next second when Shiraishi just continued looking puzzled. "Kami-sama help this poor fool of a friend I have here. Shiraishi, you really don't know? Reaaaally?"

The frown on Shiraishi's face deepened. "No, and what's that about a ship? Why would anyone want to ship me off to who-knows-where? Okay, this conversation is starting to get really weird even by your standards, Kenya."

"Just tell him already, Oshitari-senpai." Zaizen who resisted the urge to facepalm, sighed irritably. Damn, how did he survive middle school with them again?

Kenya pouted and turned back to Shiraishi with a grin. "You need to get out of your cave more, man. The whole school thinks that you and Minami Kaede are a couple. Like hashtag couple goals!"

Shiraishi's eyebrows shot up instantly.

Minami Kaede? Shizue listened to their conversation curiously.

"Speak of the devil," Chitose started, "I think she's looking for you, Shiraishi."

Heads turned in the gestured direction and Shizue's eyes instantly grew wide at the figure standing by the cafeteria entrance.

That was Minami Kaede?

 _Stunning_ was the impression Shizue immediately had about Minami Kaede. The latter had a sort of proud grace to the way she held herself, and Shizue instantly felt self-conscious of her own appearance. It's no wonder how all the other students seem to be staring at her in awe and reverence.

Her face looked like it was sculpted by the Greek gods on a particular good day, with her high cheekbones and well-proportioned features that hinted at a mixed blood ancestry. Her ice blue eyes swept across the cafeteria coolly until they landed on hers for a brief moment. A flick of what seemed to be surprise and curiosity seem to flash in her eyes before it returned to the cool blue eyes as her gaze continued on to the regulars sitting at the same table as her.

Tearing her eyes away from the girl, Shizue casted a curious side glance at Shiraishi and noticed that he too was looking up at Minami Kaede. A sinking feeling churned in her stomach.

Of course everyone, even Shiraishi, would be staring. She understood why the whole school sees them as a couple. In her head she could picture them together, and they made a beautiful picture.

Shizue could not quite understand what was with the strange ache in her chest.

It wasn't jealousy... It was something more complicated.

She thought of younger days, of a promise between two children that they would always be together. The thought of Shiraishi possibly walking away to somebody else one day was unsettling. But she already broke their promise when she left, she thought with a bitter laugh at her own hypocrisy.

Her eyes flitted down to the drained juice box in her hands but a movement beside made her look up again to see Shiraishi rising from his seat.

"Guys, I'll be going off now, Minami-san probably needs to speak to me about council matters." Shiraishi rolled his eyes when he caught the smirks the regulars threw him and laughed. "Haha very funny. I'll see you guys at morning practice tomorrow."

"I'll see you in class, Shi– erm, Okuda-san." A friendly pat on her shoulder snapped Shizue out of her thoughts to find Shiraishi leaving the table. "I'll go ahead first!" He gave them a wave and jogged off in the direction of Minami Kaede.

Watching the tennis captain greet the girl with a smile, Shizue noticed how the noisy cafeteria had significantly quietened and every eye was fixed on the pair as they strode away from the cafeteria.

"Damn, this is no fair." Kenya started grumpily, breaking the silence of their table. "Why does he always get the girl?"

At that, Zaizen snorted and unceremoniously dug into his lunch and ignored the rest of his idiotic teammates as they gossiped shamelessly like old ladies at the market.

* * *

Shizue headed straight for the school library after they were dismissed for the day to register herself into the library system. Maybe she should read up on the school?

Drumming her fingers against the counter absentmindedly, she watched the librarian disappear into the backroom with her registration form.

 _Flip. Flip. Flip._

Shizue glanced over her shoulder at that sound and found a girl with chin-length wavy light brown hair standing behind her frantically flipping through a magazine featuring a familiar-looking person on its cover page–

Wait, isn't that…?

Shizue spun around with widened eyes. "Excuse me, may I take a look at the cover page for a while?"

The girl lifted her gaze, surprised to see someone else in the library. "The cover page…?"

Shizue nodded.

"Here."

A surprised gasp elicited from Shizue the moment the cover page came into full view.

On the magazine, the cover hosted a young woman around her age staring back at her with those piercing ice-blue eyes that she saw just hours earlier.

 _MINAMI KAEDE – OUR NEW 'IT' GIRL TALKS ABOUT JUGGLING SCHOOL, WORK, AND MORE!_

"Isn't she just gorgeous?"

Shizue looked up at the brunette from her perusal to see admiration and adoration on the other girl's face.

"Yeah," Shizue said almost breathlessly. "This model is our school's Minami Kaede, isn't she?"

The brunette nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, Shitenhouji is so lucky to have someone like her!"

Nodding mutely, Shizue glanced down at the magazine once more, trying to will the strange, uncomfortable flutter in her chest away.

* * *

After the girls were done settling their things at the counter, their conversation had led them to an isolated sitting area somewhere at the back of the library. At least fifteen minutes has passed ever since Shizue learnt that the brunette was called Kurokawa Megumi. Megumi told her that she was also a sophomore like her, was a huge fan of the Shitenhouji High Tennis club, and mentioned or rather _gushed_ about being in the same class, class 2-2, as Oshitari Kenya.

Shizue was reminded of Akane-buchou, her Hyotei track captain, who also had the tendency to express herself through dramatic, comical expressions and expressive hand gestures.

"Don't you think that Shiraishi-sama…" Shizue held back a cringe at the way Megumi had addressed the tennis captain. "…and Minami-chan just look soooo good together?"

Shizue let out a nervous laugh when the brunette suddenly swung over to her with a crazy look in her eyes. "I mean, I mean… look at them! They're such good-looking people! Plus, one's a tennis captain, a class representative _and_ the president of student council while the other is the vice-president and a freakin' model!"

Shizue froze for a second.

"Hold up, Shiraishi-kun is _also_ the president of the school's student council?" Shizue gaped.

"Yeap, he was voted to be the president along with Minami Kaede as the vice-president just two months ago." Megumi beamed, as if she was a proud mother talking about her favourite child.

Shizue took in the information with incredulity.

Yeah sure, she knew Shiraishi was the type that was always bound for success in almost everything he do. But this was getting really ridiculous! Not only he was the tennis captain and a class representative, he was the president of student council as well?

"Wow…" Shizue mused.

"Yeah, I know right." Megumi laughed. "Alright, enough about him, let's talk about you."

Shizue turned to her, surprised.

"What, you think I'm going to talk about him and Minami Kaede all day long?" Megumi feigned an offended look. "While I do like them a lot, I should learn about my new friend too, you know." She winked, lightly bumping her shoulder into Shizue with a grin on her face.

A smile lit up Shizue's face at that. "Sure!"

They settled into a comfortable silence and Shizue smiled gently at the thought that she would find someone in Shitenhouji that she could click with in such a short amount of time. In Hyotei, friendships were often built upon the need for networking and connections between the heirs and heiresses of the families, to reach a higher social standing in society.

Shizue wasn't particularly rich or had useful connections, so her only real friends were her trackmates over their shared love for running. And Akutagawa-san, who didn't bothered with politics and was a sweetheart to everyone. Her heart ached with longing to see her Hyotei friends again.

"Soooo," Megumi looked thoughtful for a while. "Have you decided which club you're going to join?"

"Actually I'd already decided."

It was Megumi's turn to look surprise.

"Yeah," Shizue nodded, "I'm going to join the track team."

"The track team?" Megumi's forehead creased. "Awww man, I was hoping to convince you to join the art club!"

"Art club?" Shizue blinked, "What do you guys do?"

"Hmm there are a few departments, and they do different things. I'm in the Fashion department! We keep ourselves updated with the latest fashion styles, and we design costumes for different events like school performances, and sometimes we even sell our designs to the public!" Megumi elaborated. "I'm planning to enroll myself into a fashion school after we graduate!"

Shizue's eyes dropped to the stack of magazines, suddenly forming connection between the fashion magazines and this girl. "Is this why you're borrowing all these magazines?"

"Yeah," Megumi nodded enthusiastically," I read these to get inspiration for my next design. We're excited to be designing the costumes for the school festival even though it's still like six months away!"

Megumi continued gushing excitedly about the fashion show with the occasional input from Shizue who, while had no idea about fashion and designing, had an eye for colour arrangements from her experience with the art of flower arranging.

Megumi paused in the midst of her excited rant when she spotted the book on Shizue's lap. "' _Shitenhouji High School: Through the Years_ '? Wow I don't think anyone has touched that book in years, judging by all that dust."

Shizue shrugged sheepishly. "I wanted to read up more on the school…"

Megumi rolled her eyes playfully as she punched Shizue's shoulder gently. "You could just ask me, I can tell you everything you wanna know about our school!"

Shizue mumbled something about not wanting to trouble anyone with her silly questions, while fiddling with her fingers and staring at her lap.

Megumi shook her head fondly before wrestling Shizue into a hug. "You silly girl, we're friends so there's no need for all that!"

With one last squeeze, Megumi released her. "Okay! What do you want to know?"

Shizue shrugged helplessly. "I just want to know more about the culture of the school, so why don't you just start?"

Megumi perked up instantly.

"Oh our school motto is _'The one who laughs first wins'_! And we hold the weirdest contests and events. There's the S-1 Grand Prix where we determine the school's best comedians (Koharu-sama and Hitouji-sama participate ever year), the School Wide Idiot's Martial Arts Tournament (last year it ended up being a costume contest where the competitors dress up as famous martial artists), the Eat-Until-You-Drop Complete Swimsuit competition (who would wear a swimsuit after eating so much urgh), and…"

Laughing together with her new friend who was gesturing around excitedly, Shizue felt all of the day's stress slip away.

* * *

Shizue casted a curious side glance at the pile of magazines sitting in Megumi's arms as they made their way towards the front gate. "Megumi-chan, are you sure you don't need me help you carry all these to your club room?"

Megumi spared a glance at the pile in her arms and shook her head. "Nah, no need, these are not heavy."

Shizue nodded and returned her gaze to the front to find that they had reached the gate.

Megumi noticed this too. "Oh well I guess this is it then, Shizue-chan."

The girls stopped and turned to each other.

"It was nice meeting you, Megumi-chan," Shizue shot her a small smile. "And thanks for telling me about the school."

"Heh, you're welcome!" Megumi grinned. "I'm more useful than that yearbook, aren't I?" She winked, tossing her hair over a shoulder haughtily as she strode ahead.

She stopped abruptly, causing Shizue to almost bump into her. "Wha-"

Then she caught sight of what Megumi was staring at. Shiraishi was stationed near the school gate, and as she continued staring and wondering what he was doing there, he looked up and met her eyes.

Walking towards her and her unmoving figure of a friend, Shiraishi gave an apologetic smile.

"Hey Okuda-san, sorry that I couldn't walk you to school this morning cause of tennis practice, do you want to walk home together? I'd hate for you to get lost again." he joked, remembering when she told him that afternoon about how she got off at the wrong stop.

Shizue smiled back at him. "No worries, Shiraishi-kun. Yeah sure, I was just about to go home anyway. Oh! This is my friend, Kurokawa Megumi-chan. Megumi-chan, this is my erm, this is Shiraishi Kuranosuke-kun." _Though you already knew that_ , Shizue thought with a silent laugh.

Shiraishi turned his smile to the silent girl next to Shizue who was staring at him intensely, in an almost scrutinizing way. "It's nice to meet you, Kurokawa-san."

Megumi nodded and replied the same in a low tone, unlike her usually loud exclamations.

Bidding farewell to Megumi with the promise of meeting again tomorrow, Shizue left the school with Shiraishi, wondering about her friend's strange reaction.

"Do you mind if we make a quick stop at the mart? I need to pick up some groceries for my mum, and it's along the way home. And I can show you a short cut between school and home if you want to walk to school on some days instead of taking the bus. It's really nice in the morning here."

Nodding her agreement, Shizue thought about her first day in Shitenhouji High. Though it was nerve wrecking and she got off on a bad start by getting lost, it was a pretty good first day.

 _And…_

Glancing at her companion from the side of her eyes, a thoughtful look appeared on her face.

Though there were still some awkward moments between them, she felt hopeful that she was making progress in rebuilding their friendship.

Turning her eyes to the clear blue sky above, Shizue thought that yeah, it was a pretty good first day of school.

* * *

 **A/N:** And there you go, chapter three! Well, I hope you like this. I'm sorry that I uploaded and took it down again, I wasn't happy with the first draft so I decided to rewrite and rearrange the stuff here. Please review and tell me what you think. And those who does not have the habit to review, it's a good time to pick up that habit yeah? Hehehehe!

 **Reviews** would be **greatly, _greatly_ ** appreciated!


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